A conventional pickup truck typically has a cargo space with a tailgate at its rear. Upon release of a latching mechanism, the tailgate may be swung down around a hinge to a horizontal position to facilitate access to the cargo space to load or unload the truck. When unlatched, the tailgate can easily be lifted from its hinge and removed from the truck. Thus, the tailgate itself is particularly vulnerable to theft, presenting a need for tailgate security.
Although tailgates may differ depending on the model of the pickup truck, several elements are common to most tailgates. Typically, a tailgate has spaced-apart outer and inner panels. A recess within the outer panel accommodates a handle attached to a pair of arms that extend inwardly through the recess and connect to the latching mechanism. The handle is actuated by rotating the handle in an outward-upward direction.
Despite these basic commonalities, tailgates may differ in several respects. Among other things, they vary in the structure of the handle recess. In some tailgates the outer panel is apertured to form the handle recess. In contrast, in the tailgates to which this invention is directed, the outer panel is indented to form a recess having a back wall and peripheral side walls extending inwardly to the back wall. A pair of apertures, horizontally spaced from each other at opposite ends of the back wall, extend the vertical length of the back wall to accommodate the handle arms.
Tailgates also vary in the location of an unactuated handle relative to the exterior surface of the tailgate outer panel surrounding the recess. The handle may be flush with the exterior surface, it may be inwardly spaced from that surface, or it may extend outward beyond the surface.
Prior anti-theft devices for tailgates cover the handle recess of a tailgate with a metal plate to prevent access to the tailgate handle. However, these prior devices are designed for tailgates in which the handle is either flush with the exterior surface of the outer panel or recessed within it. They are not particularly suited for tailgates in which the handle protrudes substantially outward from the outer panel of the tailgate.
Moreover, these devices hook behind the outer panel at the top or at a side of the handle recess and, therefore, are unsuitable for use on a tailgate in which the outer panel is indented, rather than apertured, since the inner surface of the outer panel is inaccessible.